PROBLEMY WCZESNEJ EDUKACJI / ISSUES IN EARLY EDUCATION ISSN 1734-1582 2 (37) / 2017 e-ISSN 2451-2230 Martyna Jaskulska Uniwersytet Gdański
[email protected] Marta Łockiewicz Uniwersytet Gdański
[email protected] Polish as L1, English as L2: the linguistic transfer impact on Second Language Acquisition stemming from the interlingual differences: implications for young learners education Summary Research has shown that learners of different linguistic backgrounds make similar errors, which is due to linguistic transfer. Cross-linguistic similarities between L1 and L2 can result in: positive transfer, negative transfer, and differing lengths of acquisition. The bigger the difference between the languages, the bigger Second Language Acquisition difficulties and more numerous potential negative transfer areas. This effect is visible in the case of Polish as L1 and English as L2. English and Polish differ in terms of pronunciation (e.g. vowel-based vs. consonant-based), spelling (e.g. opaque vs. semi-transparent), grammar (e.g. fixed vs. flexible word order), syntax (e.g. analytic vs. synthetic), and vocabulary. Therefore, second language instruction should include the errors caused by linguistic transfer, which would facilitate the selection and development of effective instruction methods and techniques. Słowa kluczowe: angielski jako język obcy, polski jako L1, transfer językowy, przejrzy- stość języka, nabywanie języka obcego Keywords: English as a foreign language, Polish as L1, linguistic transfer, language trans- parency, SLA Introduction According to the Education and Training 2020 strategy (Eurydice 2005), pupils should be taught two foreign languages from an early age. Poland follows these recommendations, as children learn English starting from the reception year, and from year 2017/2018 starting from kindergarten (Journal of Laws of 2014, item 803).